ARCADIA, Calif. – If Havana wins Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, it will mark the third time in four years that trainer Todd Pletcher had an unbeaten 2-year-old champion.

“That would be nice,” Pletcher said with a laugh, “a trend we’d like to keep following.”

Pletcher captured the 2010 Juvenile with Uncle Mo and again last year with Shanghai Bobby. Like Havana, those horses used Belmont Park’s prestigious Champagne Stakes as their launching pad. Pletcher didn’t have a horse in the 2011 Juvenile.

Havana has taken the almost identical path to the Juvenile as Uncle Mo, who went from a six-furlong Saratoga maiden race on the Travers undercard to the mile Champagne. Havana went from a 5-1/2-furlong Saratoga maiden race the day before the Travers to the Champagne. Shanghai Bobby started his career in April running 4-1/2 furlongs, with a steady four-race progression to the Juvenile.

All ran around two turns and at 1 1/16 miles for the first time in the Juvenile.

“To me, the real question was going from 5-1/2 furlong maiden to the Champagne off only one start,” Pletcher said of Havana, the 5-2 Juvenile favorite who must start from post 13. “It takes a pretty special horse to do that. … He was unlucky to draw 13, but he’s a good gate horse with tactical speed…. He’s been brilliant at times, and he’ll need to be in this situation.”

Pletcher also could have his third champion in four years with a horse who has been beaten but possesses three races at 1 1/16 miles. After finishing second in a five-furlong dirt race, We Miss Artie won a Belmont turf race, was sixth after being wide on both turns in Saratoga’s With Anticipation Stakes on grass and then won Keeneland’s Grade I Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity on Polytrack with authority.

We Miss Artie, a $90,000 Keeneland yearling by the good turf horse Artie Schiller, is owned by Ken and Kathern Ramsey of Nicholasville, Ky. The Ramseys, who have set victory records at seven meets so far this year, also have in their seven-horse Cup contingent Juvenile Turf favorite Bobby’s Kitten, who is trained by Chad Brown.

“It made sense for stable management for Mr. Ramsey,” Pletcher said of putting We Miss Artie and Bobby's Kitten in different horses. “But it mainly made sense because we like the way this horse has trained on the dirt…. It wouldn’t surprise me (if he won). Especially with Mr. Ramsey, the way he’s going.”

Strong Mandate, the 10-length Hopeful winner who was seventh in the Champagne when taken out of his best game of laying up close, must start from post 14.

“These stains on my shirt and jacket, that’s where I threw up,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a five-time Juvenile winner, joked after Monday’s draw. “The other throw-up was Todd… But we’ll live with it. We’ve got the best horse; we’ll see what happens.

“I just think he’s exceptional, and he might be able to overcome some of this. But it’s not ideal. If he wins this, you better anoint him.”

Bob Baffert, who has trained two Juvenile winners, will saddle good-looking maiden winners Tapit It Rich and New Year’s Day.

“We’re a little bit behind,” Baffert said. “Tap It Rich, we threw him in there because he has a lot of raw talent, so we have to take a run at it…. New Year’s Day, his two races at Del Mar were pretty impressive: He came running and then he won going long and beat Bond Holder pretty easy. He got a little temperature, not bad, and missed that one race. He’s been working really well so I think I got caught up with him.

“... I think these are true two-turn horses, but they’re going to have to get a clear shot at running.”

Trainer Doug O’Neill, winner of the 2005 Juvenile with champion Stevie Wonderboy and second last year with 19-1 He’s Had Enough, is running Bond Holder, who earned his first victory in five attempts in Santa Anita’s Grade I Front Runner. He also has 30-1 Rum Point, who was fourth in the Breeders’ Futurity and is making his dirt debut.

“Bond Holder was just crying for the added ground, and I think Rum Point was crying for the dirt,” O’Neill said.

The speedy Diamond Bachelor also is making his first start on dirt after three turf races (two wins and a close second). All three have been at a mile, and trainer Patrick Biancone said getting the longer distance was his motivation for putting the $570,000 juvenile purchase on grass. He’s ridden by Julien Leparoux, who after the Breeders’ Cup will ride at Churchill Downs as he returns to a Kentucky, New York, Florida circuit.

“He’s a really, really good horse,” Biancone said. “At the same age, 2, he’s the best I’ve ever trained.”

Mark Casse will saddle Conquest Titan, who broke his maiden on his second attempt, in a $125,000 stakes at Woodbine. The Birdstone colt was fifth with traffic problems in Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity, but jockey Eurico Da Silva told Casse he was much better on dirt.